Andre Villas-Boas gets Moutinho backing ahead of Spurs appointment

As
Andre Villas-Boas looks set to replace
Harry Redknapp at Tottenham later this week, his potential first signing Joao Moutinho has backed the Portuguese manager saying he was not given time to prove himself at Chelsea.

Andre Villas-Boas looks set to be perched at White Hart Lane’s sidelines next season (Picture: Kevin Quigley)

No deal has as yet been agreed for the former Chelsea manager, though it is expected that a three-year contract will be hurriedly finalised before being announced sometime in the week.

It looks set to be a busy month for Tottenham, who are also expected to confirm the signings of Ajax defender Jan Vertonghen for £9.5 million and Hoffenheim midfielder Gyfil Sigurdsson for £8 million.

Spurs are also believed to be interested in Porto’s Jose Moutinho, who will have made himself an even more attractive signing if indeed AVB does join the north London club, after singing the Portuguese manager’s praises.

Moutinho says the 34-year-old was judged solely on his immediate results or lack thereof at Chelsea and that attention was not paid to his long-term plans, adding that he believes Villas-Boas is keen to prove himself in England.

The midfielder said: ‘AVB is one of the best coaches I’ve worked with. I’d work with him again tomorrow.

‘I don’t really know what happened at Chelsea — but when you employ a new coach you have to give him time.’

AVB was sacked after just eight months at Chelsea, and will take over from Harry Redknapp who left White Hart Lane last month.

Moutinho added: ‘You can’t always base his progress on results. If players are obstructive it makes the job very difficult.

‘Perhaps in the end he was judged more on immediate results than he was on his long-term vision. All I do know is he did a fantastic job at Porto, he didn’t win the league title and the Europa League by chance.

AVB had a turbulent time at Chelsea last season (Picture: AFP/Getty)

‘But then he had a set of players who bought into his ideas and were enthusiastic and supportive. He was very much like Pep Guardiola was at Barcelona. He loved to deploy systems to bring the best out of the players.

‘I remember talking to him about England when he was poised to leave. He was so enthusiastic, he was so determined to make a success of it.

‘AVB isn’t the type to want revenge, his only motivation is to prove to people that he can be a success in England.’